A new multi-storey car park next to Didcot Parkway station is almost complete say Great Western Railway bosses.

The £20m facility, located in the former Foxhall Road car park, is part funded by the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, and will see the number of car parking spaces at the station increase by over 65 per cent to 1,800.

In September a footbridge connecting the five-storey car park to the station was lowered into place and the multi-storey opened a fortnight ago.

Not all levels are open yet but GWR spokesman James Davis said the project was in its final stages and would be completed 'in days rather than weeks'.

Mr Davis said: "We will open levels 4 and five; the lifts, and Network Rail is to open their footbridge after the completion of snagging – shortly.

"There has been a significant investment in the Oxfordshire economy, one which caused a challenge to existing car park users during its construction.

"We were keen to see these improvements delivered to customers as soon as practically possible; prioritising opening lower floors first; and in so doing providing more parking than was available beforehand.

"To enable construction of the new multi-storey car park we lost some parking at the station, and some of the provisional parking we were able to supply was further away – so we were keen to allow customers back to the station car park as soon as possible – with a phased opening."

The old Foxhall Road car park had space for 895 cars, and the temporary car park space for just 387, with additional parking provided in an agreement with Didcot Town FC.

Mr Davis added: "At present we have now opened up to level 3, providing 1,340 spaces; so over 400 more than there ever has been before; with parking for those with reduced mobility provided on the station forecourt.

"Customers who were using the temporary car park had to (and still do) go up the steps of the temporary footbridge to cross over the railway line – so opening the car park in a phased manner was the best option to provide the parking space required, while work to the new footbridge and lifts was completed."

GWR Regional Development Manager Tom Pierpoint said earlier that Didcot Parkway was used by over three million customers every year, offering quick and easy journeys to Oxford, Banbury, Reading and London – making it a key hub.

He added: "With London around 40 minutes away by train, a new multi-storey car park, complementing new trains and more seats, will provide a better travelling experience for all those who use the station both now and into the future.”